Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg

Building Blocks – Part 2

Sabbath

Today we begin a new teaching series called “Building Blocks”.

Building Blocks is a series focusing on the essential features, the basics, of the Christian life. It’s not intended only for new believers, but also for those who have been walking with Jesus for many years.

Our series began focusing on prayer- our communication with the Lord.

Today we focus on Sabbath – a command from God that is an incredible gift, and one that is too often ignored.

Genesis 2:2-3

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

-God rested. The one with unlimited energy and eternal potential took a break.

-It mattered to God that after all the work there was this sacred time, this holy time, a time of rest.

-At the beginning of creation, God was demonstrating the powerful gift given to us through Sabbath.

Exodus 20:8-11

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Why Sabbath?

-Yes, it’s true God commanded it so we should trust Him and obey. But there is a very clear purpose for this command.

-The Lord knew something about us, about humanity, about our nature. The Lord knew we need rest. True rest.

-Why Sabbath? Because the Lord valued rest enough that He demonstrated on the seventh day of creation and instructed us to do the same.

“The biggest disease in North America is busyness”

-Thomas Merten

-We are living in a world that has never needed rest more and yet we don’t even know how.

-From the moment we get up until the moment we shut our eyes, we are busy, and we even create busy for ourselves.

-From our earliest days, whether due to “the American Dream” or the passionate focus on “getting things done” we are, frankly, taught not to rest.

“Most of the things we need to be most fully alive never come in busyness. They grow in rest.”

-Mark Buchanan

Mark 2:27-28

Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

-One of the problems with Sabbath is we’ve made it something that it’s not.

We see it as this master list of restrictions. For me a kid, a list of ‘do’s and ‘don’ts’. But Jesus was shedding the light on the true heart of Sabbath.

-This is not a command given to weigh you down and cause you to jump through hoops. It’s a command given to give you rest and freedom and to restore life.

Verses for further study/reflection:

Genesis 2:3

Exodus 20:1-17

Exodus 31:12-17

Isaiah 58: 13-14

Luke 4:16

Luke 23:56

Hebrews 4:9

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org

Thank you for your partnership in the Kingdom of Christ!

Giving

Church of the Nazarene – East Rock

Building Blocks – Part 2

Sabbath

Today we continue a new teaching series called “Building Blocks”.

Building Blocks is a series focusing on the essential features, the basics, of the Christian life. It’s not intended only for new believers, but also for those who have been walking with Jesus for many years.

Our series began last week focusing on prayer

Today we focus on Sabbath – a command from God that is an incredible gift, and one that is too often disregarded.

Exodus 20:8-11

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Genesis 2:2-3

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Pete Scazzero

“Make no mistake about it: keeping the command to Sabbath is both countercultural and extremely difficult in our everyday lives.”

Jeff Bethke

“In our Western culture that constantly bends the knee to gods of productivity, work-based identity, and speed, Sabbath comes as a fist in the air every week (in resistance), saying no…”

So why Sabbath?

STOP

REST

DELIGHT

WORSHIP

Matthew 11:28

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Soren Kierkegaard

“Busyness, keeping up with others, hustling hither and yon, makes it almost impossible for an individual to form a heart.”

Mark Buchanan

“Most of the things we need to be most fully alive never come in busyness. They grow in rest.”

Mark 2:23-28

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Tips for all Practices/Disciplines/Building Blocks

-Start small

-Think subtraction, not addition

-You get what you put in

-Remember the J-curve

-There is NO formation without repetition

Isaiah 58:13-14

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

John Mark Comer

“The end goal of Sabbath is not to say, “I practice Sabbath.” It’s to apprentice under Jesus to become a person who is marked by an inner spirit of restfulness and who is calm, at ease in their own body, unhurried, kind, and present. You will become aware of what God is doing around you, sincerely grateful, emotionally healthy, and delighted by the goodness of your life with God. A person who is like a rock in a sea of chaos, unmoved by the overwork, overconsumption, and overactivity of our host culture.”

Verses for further study/reflection:

Genesis 2:3

Exodus 20:1-17

Exodus 31:12-17

Isaiah 58: 13-14

Luke 4:16

Luke 23:56

Hebrews 4:9

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org

Thank you for your partnership in the Kingdom of Christ!

Giving

Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg

Building Blocks

Prayer

Today we begin a new teaching series called “Building Blocks”.

Building Blocks is a series focusing on the essential features, the basics, of the Christian life. And it’s not intended just for new believers in our midst, but as an important refresher for even those of you who are veterans of the faith.

Our series begins focusing on prayer- our communication with the Lord.

Prayer is the fundamental and anchoring unit of our relationship with God. It defines and strengthens that relationship.

Prayer is foundational.

Matthew 6:5-13

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’

1. The Fatherhood of God

2. The worship of God

3. The coming of the Kingdom of God

4. The will of God

5. Provision for His people

6. Victory over sin and the evil one

7. The “Our”

Mark 14:32-42

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

1. How are your praying?

2. Is your prayer time focused on you?

3. Have you done the work that prayer requires?

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org

Thank you for your partnership in the Kingdom of Christ!

Giving

Church of the Nazarene – East Rock

Building Blocks

Prayer

Today we begin a new teaching series called “Building Blocks”.

Building Blocks is a series focusing on the essential features, the basics, of the Christian life. And it’s not intended just for new believers in our midst, but as an important refresher for even those of you who are veterans of the faith.

Our series begins focusing on prayer- our communication with the Lord.

Prayer is the fundamental and anchoring unit of our relationship with God. It defines and strengthens that relationship.

As often as prayer is mentioned in the Bible (in the KJV its 547 mentions), you don’t have to study Genesis to Revelation to develop a correct and impactful theology of prayer.

You can simply watch and listen to Jesus in the pages of the gospels- he left us lots of examples. If your thinking about prayer matches his, you got it.

Matthew 6:5-8

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

It could be easy to imagine that anything goes in prayer, just so long as you’re doing it, right? But Jesus begins his teaching on prayer with a warning against bad motives in prayer- there is a wrong way to pray.

Jesus first warns about praying in such a way as to gain the attention of others

Jesus also warns against “babbling like pagans” in your prayers- you could transliterate that as “do not get into a bunch of blah blah blah”

Matthew 6:9-10

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

We are halfway through the prayer that Jesus taught us- and so far, it’s all about him.

An honest question for you and me today: Do we give half of our prayer time to focusing on the Lord. To worship, adoring, and praising him?

Matthew 6:11-13

Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’

In this very short yet profound prayer- we see what mattered most to Jesus in prayer:

i.The fatherhood of God

ii.The worship of God

iii.The coming of His Kingdom

iv.The desire or will of God

v.The protection of his people.

vi.The eradication of sin

vii.And victory over Satan.

We have called this series “building blocks” because it doesn’t matter if you are new to the faith, or have been following Christ for 60 years, the importance of these foundational practices never fades.

There is never a point in any relationship when you can just give up- when you can stop communicating, when you can stop trying, when you can stop giving 100%. The same is true in our relationship with the Lord.

To be clear, building blocks is not about EARNING our salvation, it’s about learning to live it out. The goal of this series is not to make you feel bad about your walk with the Lord, it’s not to shame you into action.

This series is an invitation to experience the Lord in a powerful way. To know him intimately, to be transformed by his presence, to experience the journey of relationship. And friends, that journey begins in prayer.

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org

Thank you for your partnership in the Kingdom of Christ!

Giving

https://www.bible.com/events/49142092

Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg

Family Values Part 4

In our families, let’s lead with grace. Let’s give grace the first word.

Today we continue our teaching series called “Family Values” where we are taking a deep dive into strengthening our family relationships.

Family is so important. Though often challenging, family can be some of our deepest and closest relationships- and those matter!

We believe your family matters, and perhaps most importantly, your family matters to God.

Family Values is about walking out faithfulness to God within our families. Over the next few weeks we will consider what it takes to build strong family relationships.

Whether you are a son or daughter, husband or wife, brother or sister, aunt or uncle, your family relationships matter to God.

Throughout this series, we are clinging to two truths that we believe can change everything for our family relationships.

There is hope and there is help.

Today as we conclude our series, we are looking at the importance of extending grace within our families.

Hebrews 12:14-15

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

The New Living translation says it this way: “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. “

This idea of grace is so important that we are to look after one another to ensure that everyone gets to receive this gift. Everyone is included, and no one has to miss out.

Ephesians 2:8

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

So how does the grace of God impact how we live in relationship with one another?

How does this gift of grace show up in our families?

Colossians 3:12-14

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

-That word ‘bear’ is so important (verse 13). Extending patience is a good way to define it, but even more this word implies “suffering”.

-You are to extend patience to the point of suffering. That is grace!

God’s Word isn’t arguing that extending grace to one another is easy or simple.

-Just as providing grace took sacrifice on the part of our Lord, extending grace in our families is a sacrificial act for the good of the other person and for the good of the family.

Because families are full of flawed people, the extension of grace is a mandatory family value.

-You can’t talk about healthy, God-honoring families with talking about grace

-Not only are your family members flawed, but they are different from you – with different personal styles and perspectives.

-If you expect everyone in your family to think and act like you do, both of you will be frustrated. Grace is the antidote.

Verses for further study/reflection:

Ephesians 4:29

Colossians 4:6

1 Peter 4:10

James 2:13

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org

Thank you for your partnership in the Kingdom of Christ!

Giving